the private university announced ... ( associated press ) file - this sept. 30 , 2003 , file photo , shows the exterior of a dormitory at vanderbilt university in nashville , tenn. , is inscribed with the name confederate memorial hall .
vanderbilt first sought to change the name in 2002 .
the private university announced on monday , aug. 15 , 2016 , that it has struck an agreement to pay $ 1.2 million to united daughters ... ( associated press ) file - this sept. 30 , 2003 , file photo , shows the exterior of a dormitory at vanderbilt university in nashville , tenn. , is inscribed with the name confederate memorial hall .
the building , which has had that name on the exterior of confederate memorial hall .
close vanderbilt chancellor nicholas s. zeppos discusses why the university is renaming confederate memorial hall .
vanderbilt university will repay an 83 - year - old donation in order to remove from a residence hall what its leader called " a symbol and a reminder of racism , slavery and a very , very bloody civil war . "
 
the private university has referred to the confederate name chiseled on the building because it was constructed with the help of a $ 50,000 gift from the united daughters of the confederacy
to change the name , vanderbilt raised $ 1.2 million to repay the united daughters of the confederacy .